Let There Be Cake
by AishiExcel
Summary: ONESHOT /Birthday fic for Matsu./ Birthdays weren't important when Kira was on the loose. So why did Matsuda feel so terrible thinking everyone had forgotten? Slight implied Light/L


A birthday fic for Matsuda!

Well, I'm actually off by a day, seeing as it was yesterday, but I decided I'd wait till today and do a double wammy- because today is MY birthday! Woo! I'm 18! Now I'm eligible to buy all that yaoi online… :D Ha-ha, anyways, here it is, for everyone's favorite happy-go-lucky puppy dog, Matsuda. Sorry it's late 

////

Matsuda's heart pounded as he stepped into H.Q. The security check let him through (thankfully without removing his pants) and the glass doors opened to reveal the main room of L's private skyscraper.

The young cop looked down at his digital watch. Yep, it was December 14th.

He looked around at his co-workers and allies against Kira. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

Light and Ryuzaki were bickering in front of the multitude of monitors at the center of the room. Mogi was diligently and silently sorting through piles of paperwork. Chief Yagami and Aizawa were sipping coffee and studying newspaper reports of Kira's killings.

Nobody seemed… excited or anything.

Matsuda cleared his throat and Aizawa looked up to glare at him.

"Good morning, Aizawa." Matsuda chuckled. "Isn't it a … happy… day?"

"People are dying, Kira still isn't caught and my daughter is at home forgetting she has a father. No, Matsuda. It is NOT a happy day."

Matsuda bit his lip to hide a crestfallen expression. "Oh. Okay then." He inched away from Aizawa and looked to Mogi. "Morning, Mogi," he mumbled.

Mogi nodded his head in Matsuda's direction and returned to his sorting. Oh, well. Matsuda shouldn't have expected a dialogue out of Mogi anyways.

He didn't want to bother the Chief, either. Soichiro had been getting more and more gray in his hair ever since L had revealed Light to be a suspect. The last of his concerns was a dopey junior detective like Matsuda.

That left Light and L. Matsuda swallowed the lump in his throat and tiptoed over to the handcuffed pair. "Good morning, guys!"

Light let out a pleasant "good morning" but didn't even look Matsuda's direction. In contrast, L simply gave him a wordless stare.

Matsuda fidgeted with his tie. L's stare made him nervous. "So. I notice that you're eating cake, L. Anything…special about that cake? What's the occasion?"

L held his fork between two fingers and stared up at Matsuda. "It is cheesecake. I find one needs no special occasion for cheesecake."

Matsuda's shoulders slumped visibly. "Oh. Okay." He crept away to do something useful, feeling like a kicked puppy.

Nobody remembered. They really didn't remember, or they just didn't care. It wasn't that big of a deal, he supposed, it wasn't like it was a national holiday. Nobody else had celebrated theirs. And birthdays were trivial when Kira was on the loose, right?

So why did Matsuda feel so bad?

He subtly dropped hints all day. (Some weren't so subtle. Matsuda had no idea how anyone could NOT catch "I sure do feel like I've aged a year since yesterday!")

But nobody paid him any attention- nobody paid him any attention most of the time anyways.

He spent his birthday fetching coffee and feeling utterly useless.

Finally, at 11 p.m. Soichiro decided it was time the investigation team got some sleep. Mogi retired quietly. Light and L shuffled upstairs with the handcuff chain clinking between them, and Aizawa got ready to pass through security again so he could commute home to his family. Soichiro paused for a second, put a hand on Matsuda's shoulder and politely bid the younger cop goodnight before going to his own temporary room upstairs.

Matsuda was alone in the room.

"Happy birthday to me… happy birthday to me…" he mumbled to himself, spinning lazily in an office chair that had previously been occupied by L. He spun for a few minutes when he heard a sound behind him and turned to see L standing by the minifridge under the desk. L was shirtless, and he looked flushed.

"Ah. Matsuda… I did not expect you to be awake."

Matsuda blushed and shrugged. "Sorry." L was awfully thin underneath the baggy shirt he always wore. "Where's Light?"

"I left him handcuffed to the bed," L said nonchalantly. He said it like it was nothing, but the image that popped into his head nearly made him choke and blush.

"Oh! Um… okay," the junior cop stammered. There was an awkward pause. "So… what ya doing down here?"

L had a can of whipped cream dangling from two fingers. He quickly hid it behind his back. "I was getting a midnight snack," he murmured. "Cheesecake again, most likely. It is good with whipped cream, you know."

Matsuda rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. Somehow he didn't think that whipped cream was going to end up on cake. "Okay…"

L continued staring at him. "And you?"

"Ah… I dunno, it's just… it was my birthday today and… I wasn't tired and…"

L's already large eyes widened slightly. "Ah. YOUR birthday?"

"Yes…"

If L's expression weren't so deadpan, Matsuda would have sworn he looked guilty. "And are you especially fond of chocolate cake?"

"Yes…"

L put his thumb to his lips and pondered for a second. "I see. THAT is why Yagami-san asked me to deliver that cake to you. I assumed he was mistaken and I was meant to consume it…"

Matsuda's jaw nearly dropped. "You mean- there was a cake-"

"Yes. Mrs. Yagami is quite the little baker."

"… there was a cake for ME?"

"Was being the opportune word," L pointed out, "seeing as it has now been eaten…"

Somebody cared! Chief Yagami had remembered- actually had Sachiko BAKE A CAKE for Matsuda! Matsuda was overjoyed. He grabbed L in a tight embrace before scampering upstairs thinking how great birthdays were.

L stood dumbfounded by the embrace for a second before shaking his head and heading upstairs to Light. He'd never seen somebody so happy to find out someone else had eaten their birthday cake.

///

So there we go! I know the timeline is a little bit off, and I can't remember what year Matsu was born so I didn't list his exact age. But I hope you liked! Review or L will eat YOUR birthday cake too :D


End file.
